Mom Answers

Let your son decide for himself. It's a painful procedure (whether they remember it later or not, it hurts a LOT and has been proven to cause permanent changes in the neurological function of the child), it risks infection and scar issues, and babies even die from having it done. We protect our babies from everything else, why put them through elective surgery for no reason?
Intact boys won't suffer infections if they are cared for properly. Do not retract the foreskin, just wipe what you can see. When he can retract it himself, teach him how to clean under the foreskin during bath times. That's all it takes. See drmomma.org and thewholenetwork.org for more information.

NO! It's a completely unnecessary procedure that causes pain to an infant! It's purely cosmetic and parents should do some serious research on it. Americans are about the only ones who do it. There's a lot of research on it. Look online, talk to your doctors. I had a little boy though and, as far as I was concerned, the answer was NO! I did the research and don't know why anyone would cause unnecessary harm to an infant! Seems like complete child abuse to me!

It's wonderful that you're thinking about this now and doing the research. We circ'd our son and we regret it. He didn't have any problems, but I'm horrified that we cut off part of his penis for cultural reasons -- the more that I think about it, the more that it bothers me. Why on earth did we do it?! It seems so obvious now that we should have left him intact.

if you were having a baby girl and you were advised to strap her onto a board, arms and legs put in restraints, and often WITHOUT anesthesia, have her foreskin cut off (which is the clitoral hood in girls) WOULD YOU DO IT? female circumcision is illegal in this country and our precious boys deserve the same protection. make an informed decision about this unnecessary and traumatic cosmetic surgery by downloading an actual circumcision which you can easily find online. watch it, listen to the screams of the baby and then make your decision. unlike years ago, there is no excuse now for parents not to know exactly what this barbaric procedure entails. a very informative website is www.nocirg.org. get informed, become educated, don't just turn over your newborn to people who will hurt your child because THEY MAKE ALOT OF MONEY DOING SO. the foreskin is NOT A BIRTH DEFECT, it has numerous functions and a newborn male does not require surgical correction! protect your child! educate yourself

My son was not circumcised, is 21 months and never had any problems. There are minimal risks to infections w/out circumcision and many more risks to having it done. Sexual pleasure later in life is higher for men who are intact, not only because of the extra nerve endings, but also because the part of the penis that is not exposed normally is more sensitive because it is protected and touched less often. But when it came down to the decision, I let my husband decide. He isn't circumcised, the avg Brasilian is not circumcised (we live in Brasil,) he didn't want to have to explain "why daddy's penis is different", and he has never had any problems w/his so he thought it would be ok for our kid too.

Circumcision can always be done in the future, but it can never be undone. It's a permanent procedure and quite frankly I think the child should have the choice at an older age. It has a HUGE effect on sex, and has even been linked to PTSD due to the pain and trauma which isn't over at that initial cut, but continues till that poor little cut is completely healed. There are a couple videos I recommend watching because it is a huge decision. Here is the shortest, informative video I have:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgoTRMKrJo4
You should also watch Penn and Teller's video on circumcision, it's part of their "Bullsh*t" series, AKA: why it is "Bullsh*t".
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLGcqPE7xu0
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI3oa4Mx9hs

Your son will be perfect the way he is the day he is born! Why would you want to alter that precious child? There is no medical reason for circumcision and it is merely cosmetic! Please leave your son intact and let him be perfect the way he is!

Don't do it. I circumcised my son and he had a complications tha we dealt with on and off for years. My husband and I did it because we had the normal American mentality of t being cleaner, etc. well after my sons problems I researched and found out that most countries do NOT circumcise their sons. It is mainly Americans and muslims(Jews don't account for many). The reason we hear about boys having issues with their foreskin in the US is because doctors used to(and some still do) to retract the foreskin to clean. This causes the irristion and infections. Just leave the foreskin alone and it will slowly retract over time. My youngest son is NOT circumcised and he has not had one issue.

BTW, many parents end up regretting having circumcised their baby when they see how it is done or when they see the pain that their baby has to endure. Or when they face the result of a botched circumcision. But of course by then it is too late.

His body, his choice. Always. If you had a daughter would you have her breast buds removed to "prevent" breast cancer? If your answer is no, then you shouldn't amputate your darling son's foreskin to "prevent" infections. Research has proven that it doesn't prevent infections or diseases or cancers, it is a purely cosmetic procedure. There's so many good reasons to leave your baby boy whole, but I can think of no good reason to circumcise for no medical reason. Talk to your pediatrician about it and research some more and research how to properly care for an intact penis. Kudos to you for looking into this prior to his birth! <3

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